There is an increasing awareness that effective waste management is essential for transitioning towards a circular economy and achieving sustainable development goals. Scholars have studied inter-municipal cooperation (IMC) as a governance solution with the potential to generate economies of scale and reduce financial costs in waste management. However, previous research has not yet focused on measuring the effectiveness of different types of cooperation on social and environmental outcomes. We analyse the effect of different types of IMC, ranging from indirect to collaborative, on Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) indicators. Our embedded qualitative case study in the emerging metropolitan region of Cuenca-Azogues (Ecuador) found that municipalities that invested in more complex cooperation types achieved better integrated waste management performance, particularly on final disposal, citizen participation, inclusion of recyclers and environmental sustainability.

Unsustainable production and consumption patterns of single use plastics are causing worldwide negative environmental and socioeconomic impacts on land-based and marine ecosystems. Nevertheless, in Latin America, plastics governance is still fragmented across borders because of dispersed normative adoption and limited regional coordination. In this context, the instrumental level of articulation between the international principles of environmental law and the formal legal arrangements from the Pacific Alliance countries is assessed to analyze how this strategic platform can contribute to offering a regional response to the global problem of single use plastics. For this purpose, an illustrative case study of the national and subnational regulation developed by the Pacific Alliance and its members was performed. To this end, a framework analysis was conducted on the official legal documents from Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Ecuador. The results show extensive and scattered subnational regulation to control the consumption of plastic bags and single use plastics, with diverse policies on extended producer responsibility, educational and economic strategies to influence mainly the consumer’s behaviour. Recommendations are presented in order to improve plastics governance in the region through the legal component.

This article aims to analyse the role of library managers as change agent when implementing Library 2.0, using transformational leadership and stakeholder management approaches. To do so, a case study in a Latin American academic library was performed. The experiences acquired for a period of six years were analysed, during which three library managers were involved in managing change. Qualitative data from documents, interviews, and observations were collected, and qualitative analysis methods were used to obtain in-depth understanding of the change process. Results show that lack of transformational leadership and stakeholder management contribute to delayed implementation and limited adoption of innovations. Although library managers recognized the importance of different stakeholders to implement changes, they did not apply systematic and proactive strategies to define and manage them. All in all, library managers should be trained as change agents, with emphasis on transformational leadership and stakeholder management skills.